A sign marks the Microsoft office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft said on Friday its engineers had added detection and protection against a ransomware attack that had disrupted hospitals in England and infected computers in dozens of other countries around the world.

“Today our engineers added detection and protection against new malicious software known as Ransom:Win32.WannaCrypt,” a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement. It said the company was working with its customers to provide additional assistance.